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The team was making a try at a third national championship, having won twice since 2014. They were close, their coach says, and many stood out in their divisions, but there's more to take away from a well-played game than just a trophy.

"Nobody is better than me. I'm just trying my best," said 12-year-old Serina Norwood, an Edison Charter School sixth-grader who won five of her seven tournament games.

Norwood and her 13-year-old brother Kenny started playing chess in the third grade with the school's chess program, First Move. They decided a few years later to join the team.

“Chess has got me to see that I need to make the best decisions in my life now that will impact my life later,” Norwood said. “I am going to try my best, play the best moves I can when I play, focus on my game and try to win."

(From left to right) Chess team member,Thomas Edison Charter School Principal Salome Thomas-El, and chess team member Serina Norwood. The team participated in the 018 National Junior High Chess Championship in Atlanta.(Photo: Submitted)

Edison Charter School brought 13 students to Atlanta to participate in the tournament, each student playing seven games against some of the more than 1,200 students from across North America who attended, according to Principal Salome Thomas-El.

The school fielded three teams.

The Unrated division, comprised of beginners, placed fourth.

The Under 750 division, novices, placed eighth.

The Under 1000 division, which was made up of the school's best players, took second.

Jonathan Irving, a seventh-grader, won six of his seven games and tied for third best player in the Under 1000 division. Kenny Norwood tied for fifth in under 1000 division. Serina Nordwood tied for fifth in the under 750 division.

Thomas-El applauded their wins but said the game is about more to his students.

Thomas-El started teaching kids chess as a teacher in Philadelphia, where he saw a need to get students involved in extracurricular activities other than sports. Thomas-El said chess was a familiar enough game to introduce,

“I used it as a way to introduce math concepts, knights move at right angles. Bishops move at diagonals. They have to record their moves in algebraic notations,” he said.

He said the game is important for his students, many of whom come from impoverished families and lack positive outlets for their brainpower beyond school walls.

The Thomas Edison Charter School chess team this weekend participated in the 2018 National Junior High Chess Championship in Atlanta.(Photo: Submitted)

“I wanted kids to get involved in something that challenged their mind," he said. “They have to survive on the streets in the city, and when they get on the chess board, they already that personality of grit and perseverance and resilience.”

Kenny Norwood said he was skeptical about joining the team, but a coach reassured him he could be a great player, and that losing isn't as scary as it seems.

Now he's getting straight As, and said he has a scholarship to Wilmington Friends School. He thanks chess for it all.

“I never really worry about what other people think of me. I love playing chess. I get a real kick out of it,” Kenny Norwood said. “Chess helped me improve my life. It’s taught me to have short-term and long-term goals outside the board.”

The team accept financial support for some travel costs on its gofundme page.